Ateneo defeats Adamson in Season 74 Opener

The Ateneo Blue Eagles relied heavily on rookie Greg Slaughter to eke out a four point win over the Adamson Falcons, 55-51, on opening day of UAAP Men’s Basketball hostilities, July 10, at the Araneta Coliseum.

Season 74’s hosts survived a strong second half surge by Adamson sparked by shots from the outside in the third quarter, to escape with a victory opening Ateneo’s campaign for a fourth straight championship. The win also extended the Blue Eagles’ winning streak over the Falcons to 29 with the latter last prevailing in September 1997 with a Gherome Ejercito-led squad.

Ateneo started off hot with a quick 4-0 lead courtesy of Slaughter followed by a huge block on Adamson big man Lionel Manyara. The rookie center from Cebu had 12 points in the first twenty minutes of action. Slaughter finished the first half with a basket off an assist from point guard Juami Tiongson to put Ateneo up, 33-27.

Adamson came back strong after the break and dominated the third quarter. The Falcons were impeccable at the freethrow line shooting a flawless 11/11 from the stripe at the end of the game. Back to back threes from Jan Colina and Alex Nuyles propelled the Falcons ahead around three minutes into the second half. Adamson outscored Ateneo 17-10 in the third quarter but a determined Slaughter kept his team within striking distance, at one point throwing down a thunderous dunk off an assist from guard Kirk Long. Adamson led 44-43 at the close of the third.

The first few minutes of the fourth quarter were dictated by the Falcons behind the heroics of Nuyles who would later finish the game with a team-high 11 points. Greg Slaughter converted on an and 1 opportunity at the 6:40 mark to cut the Adamson lead to 4 and moments later Nico Salva scored on a driving layup to put Ateneo within 2 with six minutes remaining. Adamson Coach Leo Austria assigned a smaller Jan Colina on the 7-foot Slaughter and the Ateneo behemoth exploited the matchup with Colina fouling out with 2:15 left. Slaughter made both free throws to tie the game at 51-all. A goal-tending call on Adamson after a Kirk Long layup put Ateneo up by 2 with a little less than two minutes remaining in the game. Defense was key in the final stretch with Slaughter blocking a Lester Alvarez undergoal stab and an Adamson turnover forced by Ateneo veteran guards Bacon Austria and Emman Monfort.

Slaughter led all scorers with 23 points along with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Kirk Long and Nico Salva each chipped in 10 and 8 repectively. Emman Monfort had 5 assists and 7 rebounds to go with 6 points. Highly anticipated rookie Kiefer Ravena only had 2 rebounds and an assist in 14 minutes of action but will be expected to contribute more in the coming games.

After the game, Coach Norman Black recognized Slaughter’s big role in the win and attributed his rookie center’s impressive debut in the UAAP to hard work at practice. “A lot of the offense will go through Greg because he’s big and talented and we should really try and take advantage of him as much as possible.”

The Blue Eagles will face rivals De La Salle Green Archers next. The rivalry will be renewed on July 16, Saturday, 3 pm at the Araneta Coliseum. ONE BIG FIGHT!

ATENEO: Slaughter 23, Long 10, Salva 8, Monfort 6, Erram 3, Gonzaga 3, Austria 2, Ravena 0, Tiongson 0, Sumalinog 0, Golla 0, Chua 0

ADAMSON: Nuyles 11, Alvarez 8, Canada 6, Camson 6, Cabrera 6, Manyara 5, Lozada 3, Etrone 2, Brondial 2, Colina 2

Written by: Mikko Abello